The Political Economy of Government Responsiveness: Theory and Evidence from India

Timothy Besley
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Robin Burgess

No 2721, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: The determinants of government responsiveness to its citizens is a key issue in political economy. Here we develop a model based on the solution of political agency problems. Having a more informed and politically active electorate strengthens incentives for governments to be responsive. This suggests that there is a role both for democratic institutions and the mass media in ensuring that the preferences of citizens are reflected in policy. The ideas behind the model are tested on panel data from India. We show that public food distribution and calamity relief expenditure are greater, controlling for shocks, where governments face greater electoral accountability and where newspaper circulation is highest.

Keywords: Government responsiveness; Mass media; Newspapers; Political economy; Political agency; Political accountability; Social protection; Disaster relief; Public food distribution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 H11 H41 I38 P26 Z (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2001-03
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (24)

Downloads: (external link)
https://cepr.org/publications/DP2721 (application/pdf)
CEPR Discussion Papers are free to download for our researchers, subscribers and members. If you fall into one of these categories but have trouble downloading our papers, please contact us at subscribers@cepr.org

Related works:
Journal Article: The Political Economy of Government Responsiveness: Theory and Evidence from India (2002)
Working Paper: The Political Economy of Government Responsiveness: Theory and Evidence from India (2000)
Working Paper: The political economy of government responsiveness: theory and evidence from India (2000)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:2721

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
https://cepr.org/publications/DP2721

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers Centre for Economic Policy Research, 33 Great Sutton Street, London EC1V 0DX.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ().